Prevalence and Therapeutic Approach of Acute Pain in Emergency Provided by Triage Nursing

Abstract

Objective: This work sought to assess the effectiveness of the treatment applied in patients with acute pain in the emergency service by triage nursing. Materials and Methods: Cross-sectional, observational descriptive study of quantitative approach, with measures of central tendency in 348 patients, conducted in 2016. An ad hoc questionnaire was used, elaborated by the emergency service, which assesses the intensity of pain through a numerical scale and a pain intervention protocol that includes physical and pharmacological measures. Results: After applying the first treatment, 80.17 % of the patients experienced improvement; 7.18 % required a second treatment and, of these, 87.5 % improved and 12.5 % suffered no modifications. The nursing staff treated the patients according to the protocol, with AINES and Metamizole, primarily. The rest were remitted to medical evaluation and another 40 patients rejected treatment. Conclusions: A high percentage of patients exist who improve their perception of pain after the first treatment administered by the triage nursing personnel. The results suggest revising and updating the protocol in the first treatment.